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Monday, 10 September 2012

OT: Congratulations, Andy Murray!

I know we have a lot of readers in Great Britain, so let me just say...

...First Fred Perry beats Don Budge, and now this!

Heh.

But seriously: congratulations. Tremendous. What a fabulous match—easily one of the very best I've seen. I'm exhausted, and all I did was sit on the edge of my chair for five hours. That match had everything. Really terrific tennis.

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Featured Comment by robert p: "You think you're exhausted—it didn't end till 02:15 over here!"

Comments

Damn it - I didn't expect to get sports news from you. I was watching the match on Tivo, checking my emails, and there it was. I bet it was a good match, but I wouldn't know since all the suspense just went out of it for me. Please think twice before posting sports scores again on your blog.

Am particularly pleased for him especially after his loss at Wimbledon.

Murray's amazing victory nicely rounds off a memorable summer of British sport. However, it's best, all round, if we gloss over recent English performances on cricket fields and football/soccer pitches.

"You lot" is OK, "turn in" is rather archaic and would be not be understood (or be interpreted in some fashion *I* wouldn't recognise) by those under 30 or so. This is a good summer to be a Brit, the Olympics went better than anyone outside of LOCOG expected and now the sulky Scots kid comes right.

(Set humour level to max)
A fantastic result for the 'Brit' but for a moment I was afraid the 'Scot' would lose again.
(Reset humour level to normal)

There is more than a small bit of national pride from all parts of the UK regarding Murray and this fantastic result comes a day after the closing of the Paralympics itself already regarded as the best ever and the most financially successful.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19500185
It will be fun at the end of the year when the annual sports personality of the year contest is voted for.

Being a Scot of course I am celebrating Andy's victory, but I didn't watch the match as it wasn't shown live on BBC TV, though I did listen to the first set tie break on the radio, that was nerve racking enough! Every time I *have* watched Murray he has lost, so obviously its better for both of us if I don't.

In fact it's a safer bet. Us Lot are still confused about our nationality. I'm not sure how many people know the difference between "Great Britain" and the "United Kingdom" and what countries are included, but it turns out most of Us Lot struggle as well. It doesn't help that there is no adjective for UK-ish, or that Northern Irish citizens can choose to represent Ireland or GB in the Olympics.

Scotland is of course part of Great Britain so Murray IS British. However, as one Scottish comedian wryly observed, in England Murray was always "Scottish" when he lost and "British" when he won. In Scotland it's the other way around.

But then, since we can hardly tell the difference between You Lot and Canadians, it's safer to say You Lot to avoid offence. After all, "American" kind of covers everyone from the Arctic Circle to Cape Horn, yet there is no adjective for USA-ian. Very confusing for Us Lot, especially when we meet a Puerto Rican...;)

"Us Lot are still confused about our nationality. I'm not sure how many people know the difference between "Great Britain" and the "United Kingdom" and what countries are included, but it turns out most of Us Lot struggle as well. It doesn't help that there is no adjective for UK-ish, or that Northern Irish citizens can choose to represent Ireland or GB in the Olympics."

After long consideration, and much effort trying to "suss it out," I've come to the conclusion that you lot don't WANT the rest of the world to know what to call you. That way whenever we get it wrong, as we inevitably will, you can pity us as belonging to inferior tribes of men. I've decided that from now on, I'm going to call all y'all whatever comes to mind, indulging your evident desires, and be serenely sanguine about permanently occupying a state of error.

"After long consideration, and much effort trying to "suss it out," I've come to the conclusion that you lot don't WANT the rest of the world to know what to call you. That way whenever we get it wrong, as we inevitably will, you can pity us as belonging to inferior tribes of men."

Hey, I didn't even get started on the Commonwealth....Ay, cobber ;)

Seriously, if you randomly tested 1,000 Brits you would probably get less than 100 correct answers. At least we didn't try and make Scotland part of England....

Wish we had just called the whole thing "Britain" and be done with it.

But I am very happy for Murray - he's a real fighter in the best Scottish tradition and he deserves it completely. He can grind just about anyone into submission and he never gives up. And I say that as an admiring Englishman who is painfully aware how many British olympic medals came from "north of the border".

That would never do! Part of being British is the utter inscrutability and mystery of it all.....

Actually that was remarkably well written and succinct. I'm impressed. I did warn you though! Kafka could not have come up with anything more tortuous, or more obviously designed to make a small country seem very important....

On the other hand, the USA is doing its best to emulate it's former parent.

Sadly the sporting triumphs did not extend into the evening soccer as we lost 1-6 to Serbia. I saw only the final set of the Murray match as I woke up in HK, a mere 12 hours ahead of you in the USA, timezone-wise. I have been watching tennis either live or on TV since Maria Bueno was playing and Billy-Jean was still Little Miss Moffat. Pancho Gonzales was slugging it out with Charlie Pasarell and GB's tennis super hero was Mike Sangster. This was one of the very best results and a moment to savour. Congratulations to Mr. Murray. The empire is proud of you ;-)